Software

RELCOST Financial Model

Available Now!

The RELCOST Financial model, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet template, is used for evaluating the financial viability of energy projects. It can be used to evaluate a variety of factors key to project success, such as the minimum power sales or carbon offset price, the optimum mix of equity and capital to attract investors, or sensitivity to incentives.  Three methods of evaluating financial performance are provided by RELCOST: life cycle cost analysis, proforma statements, and financial ratios.

Proforma financial statements provided are the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet, and Sources/Uses of Funds Statement for each project year in the 20-year analysis period. Flexible user inputs include capital costs for construction, funding (equity, grants, and loans), operating costs (purchased fuels, labor, materials/expendables, etc.), taxes and fees (depreciation, tax credits, franchise costs, tax rates, etc.), cost escalation factors, income from energy, power and co-product sales, and income from sales of carbon offsets, renewable energy credits and renewable energy production incentives. Use of financial ratios and other financial performance indicators enable the RELCOST user to evaluate project financial outcomes under various model scenarios. These model scenarios are displayed on a Financial Scorecard in a stop-light chart (Red-Yellow-Green) for quick assessment.  The ability to rapidly conduct "What If" evaluations using sensitivity factors on key project inputs enables the user to determine those factors that represent the greatest amount of risk to the project, obtain guidance on key points of negotiation, identify break-even values, and examine alternative scenarios.

RELCOST Downloads

RELCOST Financial Template - Most Recent Version

• RELCOST Financial - Excel 2007 (Right-click Link and Save) 5.0 MB - April 24, 2013 (important update)
• RELCOST Financial Manual - PDF 1.4 MB - April 2010

Presentations

World Energy Engineering Congress 2010, Washington DC, December 8, 2010

• Introduction to RELCOST Presented by Carolyn Roos, PhD. Washington State University Extension Energy Program

Farm Energy Assessment Meeting Portland, OR September 18, 2009

• Background on RELCOST Results and Interpretation Carolyn Roos, PhD. Washington State University Extension Energy Program

HEATMAP and RELCOST Workshop Accra, Ghana, May 13 to 15, 2009

• Industrial CHP Example: Walk-Through of Input & Results Presented by Carolyn Roos, PhD. Washington State University Extension Energy Program

GeoFund IGA-Geothermal Workshop Istanbul, Turkey 15-20 February 2009

• Economics and Financing of Geothermal Projects R. Gordon Bloomquist, Ph.D. Washington State University Extension Energy Program (Retired)
• Geothermal Project Development Management and Financing Presented by R. Gordon Bloomquist, Ph.D. Washington State University Extension Energy Program (Retired)
• Introduction to Financial Modeling Considerations R. Gordon Bloomquist, Ph.D., IGA & Mr. Jeff Ponsness, EnSight and WSU
• RELCOST Financial* Geothermal Power Production, Base Case
• RELCOST Financial* Geothermal Power Production, Base case (with incentives)

*These are not the current version of the spreadsheet and should be used only as example applications.  Download the blank template above for the current version.

HeatMap CHP

HeatMap CHP V6.x is a CHP district energy design/re-design tool with economic and environmental analysis developed by the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. See the brochure.

The paper entitled HeatMap CHP - The International Standard for Modeling District Energy, Clean Heat and Power and Thermal Storage Systems provides a full description of the software and examples of its use.

HEATMAP is temporarily unavailable while it is undergoing a major revision. In the future, we plan to make it available for free download. We do not have an estimate yet of when that will happen.